Mahindra Scorpio:
Born from Vision, Perfected through Innovation

In this blog you will read about an Indian SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) which is loved not only loved by normal Indian people but also loved by Indian army. On July 2023 this SUV has reached a sales milestone of 9 Lakhs unit till date. This SUV had won some prestigious awards like “Car of The Year” by CNBC Autocar & “Best Car of The Year” by BBC On Wheels on 2003 just 1 year after hitting the market. We all are aware of ISRO’s (Indian Space Research Organization) recent success of Chandrayaan-3 and its budget, which is almost ₹600 crores. The budget of developing this SUV was almost ₹700 crores back in 1996 – 2002. If you still not able guess the name it is Scorpio by Mahindra.

How the Journey Started:

Inspiration:

Back in 1990s Mahindra was only known for their commercial vehicles and modified Willy’s Jeep. At that time Mahindra was only an automobile assembler in the passenger vehicle segment. From that time Mahindra had a vision to make an urban SUV with global standards. But one of the main reason of not able to do that is Mahindra had no previous experience to manufacture a vehicle from complete scratch.

Around 1995 – 1996 Ford came to India with their sedan ‘Escort’ which used to assemble in Mahindra’s plant. Mahindra also did a joint venture with Renault in that time Mahindra & Renault produced ‘Logan’. By these small joint ventures Mahindra gained knowledge about car production.

Execution:

In 1996 Mahindra finally decided to build a passenger vehicle. Although Mahindra gained knowledge from previous joint ventures but to made this journey smooth Mahindra took Pawan Goenka & Alan Durante on board to lead this project.

As Mahindra doesn’t have an unlimited budget so they used a method called IDAM (Integrated Designing and Manufacturing) to keep the R&D cost as low as possible. Mahindra had 19 teams 120 people along with the support of their supplier. The suppliers also played a significant role in parts designing and engineering. It took 75 prototypes to get the final product. After successful testing manufacturing started in Mahindra’s plant.

It took around 6 years & a budget of ₹ 700 crores to convert Mahindra’s vision into reality. Finally on 20^th June 2002 Mahindra launched its urban SUV in the Indian market and named it SCORPIO. It’s attractive pricing around ₹ 5.5 – 6 lakhs ex-showroom & muscular looks made it an instant hit in the Indian Automobile Market.

Generations & Facelifts of Scorpio:

1st Generation:

In 2002, 1^st Scorpio it had equipped with 2.6L diesel engine which produced 105 BHP or a 2.1L Renault petrol engine both had a 5 – speed manual transmission. The diesel engine was always in more demand than petrol.

1st Generation (facelift):

After 4 years (on 2006) of launch Mahindra came with a facelift version of Scorpio. This facelift not only had cosmetic changes but also mechanical changes. This facelift had total 43 changes. Some mechanical changes like, –

5 zone cusion suspension
Sliding middle row seats

Some cosmetic changes like, –

Bonet scope
Dual tone exterior colour
Alloy wheels
New tail lamps
Follow me home lights
Tilt & adjustable steering and many more

This facelift also produced 116 BHP instead of 105 BHP. These changes got customers attention and the sales went sky rocket. Although the sales were high but the SUV had some electrical issues as well as fit and finish issues.

2nd Generation:

In 2009 Mahindra introduced 2^nd generation Scorpio and discontinued 1^st generation. This 2^nd generation had 2.2 diesel m-Hawk engine with either 5 speed manual transmission or 6 speed automatic transmission. From this generation Scorpio finally got ABS & Airbag but only in top variant. Some of variants also got an in-build audio player.

3rd Generation:

Around 2012 – 2013 TATA launched ‘Safari – Storme’ to compete with 2^nd Gen Scorpio. Now the Scorpio started to look old school but Mahindra was already testing 3^rd gen Scorpio.

On 25^th September 2014 Mahindra launched 3^rd generation Scorpio. In this 3^rd generation Mahindra retained the engine from previous version but this time it was more tuned and started to produce 120 BHP. This variants had either 5 speed manual or 6 speed automatic transmission. But due to some reason Mahindra soon discontinued the automatic variant.

Not only these, this 3^rd generation Scorpio had all new chassis as well as a new front design along with new headlamps, new taillamps, new bumpers, new colour scheme, new alloy wheels and many more. This variant had a black patch in the rear-door but that was removed after getting negative feedback from the customers.

3rd Generation (Update):

In 2017, Scorpio got a new update. This time it has 2.2L m.Hawk engine with a new 6 speed manual transmission.

Birth of new Scorpio the SCORPIO–N:

For 20 long years Mahindra didn’t change any major thing in Scorpio, but this time Mahindra redesigned Scorpio from inside out and named it Scorpio–N.

Mahindra introduced Scorpio–N on 27^th June 2022. This all new Scorpio–N comes with 2.2L mHawk turbo diesel engine which produces 130 BHP or with 2.0L mStalion turbo petrol engine which produces 200 BHP both petrol and diesel variant has either 6 speed manual or 6 speed automatic transmission.

Scorpio–N also has 4WD variant. But this is not end of Scorpio.

The Scorpio Classic:

On 19^th August 2022, Mahindra brought back the old Scorpio with some updates and named it Scorpio Classic. This Scorpio Classic comes with 2 variant S & S11. Scorpio Classic has 2.2L Gen – 2 mHawk turbo diesel engine with either 6 speed manual or 6 speed automatic transmission. This Gen – 2 mHawk engine is 55 kg lighter than Gen – 1 mHawk.

Pick-up version of Scorpio:

Not only passenger vehicles Mahindra launched pick-up versions of Scorpio named ‘Scorpio Getaway’ on April 2006. In India 4 door version were only available but in other countries 2 door single cab variant was available. These were also available on 2WD & 4WD variant. Though this pick-up version not got any attention in India but internationally this pick-up version got very much attention.

On 15^th August 2023, Mahindra previewed a concept model of Scorpio Getaway and called it Global pick-up. Production is expected to start from 2025.

International Success of Scorpio:

Mahindra doesn’t restrict the Scorpio in India only but also spread outside of India. Scorpio also proved itself in other countries like Russia, Latin America, Australia, South Africa and many more countries.

Safety Rating of Scorpio:

Although the sales figure was high but we have seen a very opposite scenario in terms of safety rating of the Scorpio. In 2016 Global NCAP test Scorpio it came with 0 stars for adult safety & 2 stars for child safety.

But the new Scorpio–N turned the whole scenario in Global NCAP. This time Scorpio–N scored 5 stars in adult safety and 3 stars for child safety.

My take on Scorpio:

If you ask my opinion about Scorpio. I would say Scorpio made Mahindra famous and played a significant role to take Mahindra where it is today.

And if you ask me which model is better among Scorpio–N and Scorpio – Classic. I would say if you are looking for a feature pack SUV then you can go for Scorpio–N but if you want to enjoy the raw feel of driving then go for Scorpio – Classic.

If you reading this line then, I assume you read all of it, in that case you may have this one question.

=> Why Mahindra relaunched the old Scorpio as Scorpio – Classic?

Ans.- Well, I don’t know exactly why Mahindra done this but I will share my perspective. I guess after the launch of Scorpio–N Mahindra realised that the emotion people had with old Scorpio and it’s looks that will hard to retain with new Scorpio–N. So, to maintain the cashflow Mahindra decided to relaunch the old model of Scorpio.

Thanks for tuning in. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading our latest post as much as I have enjoyed writing it. But this is just the beginning. There’s still so much more to explore in the world of cars and bikes, and we’ll be back soon with more exciting content that’s sure to get your engines revving. So don’t forget to subscribe our newsletter and stay tuned for our next instalment. Until then, keep on exploring all the thrilling adventures that the open road has to offer!

— by Shubhradwip Paul